When a young girl disappears from the edge of the local forest, the Gloucestershire police are convinced she’s been taken by the same killer who stabbed to death beautiful, young Emily Risman eighteen years ago. They’re desperate to finally have the evidence to put him away. To save another girl before it’s too late.

Only Detective Anna Gwynne thinks he isn’t the real killer.

Anna can’t find proof and as time is running out, she realises she needs to get inside the killer’s twisted mind. And she knows just who to ask. Hector Shaw, in prison for killing the six men who caused his own daughter’s death.

Can Anna get what she needs from Hector before another life is lost, or could he lead her down a path that puts her own life in grave danger?

An absolutely page-turning thriller that will have you hooked. If you love Val McDermid, Angela Marsons and M.J. Arlidge, you won’t be able to put down The Silent Girls.

What people are saying about The Silent Girls:

‘An impressive, addictive and compelling read from a master storyteller. Once I started this book, I could not bear to be parted from it… you dare not take a breath as the suspenseful story unfoldsright up until the cinematic end.’ Renita D’Silva

‘I read this book in less than 24 hours… I was hooked.’ Goodreads reviewer

‘A very creepy procedural with tons of suspects and red herrings and a twist that I didn’t see coming… unbearably suspenseful.’ Goodreads reviewer

‘Creepy, eerie, gritty, and suspenseful… A must read!’ Goodreads reviewer

‘So many unexpected twists and turns and an ending that came as a complete surprise.’ Goodreads reviewer

This title was previously called Come Out to Play.

My review:

The Silent Girls by Dylan Young is the first book in the Detective Anna Gwynne police procedural series introducing Anna as an upcoming detective charged with finding a killer. The book stars with a gripping scene where a father goes to check his teen daughter who had been having a sleepover in their barn only to find her friend drugged and a lot of blood with his daughter missing.

Detective Anna Gwynne and her team are tasked with the case which they believe may be linked to another killing years prior. When Anna’s boss and mentor gets ill she is put in charge of the team and the investigation. Anna also finds herself looking for help from another serial killer when she makes an unexpected connection with him.

The genre of police procedurals is one that is really a hit or miss for me, sometimes I absolutely love them and other times they aren’t quite as gripping as I would like them to be. With The Silent Girls it unfortunately fell into the latter category even after starting off with what was an extremely compelling beginning. What I find that slows down the pace and gives me a bit of a disconnect is usually the style in which previous cases and/or evidence is given in a book. In this case it felt a bit dry like I was actually reading police files myself.

Also, there is a scene at the end of this book that I didn’t quite like in how it’s done. Without giving any spoilers though this was just a personal preference in feeling that was something a bit overdone and didn’t fit this character in my mind. The final wrap up of the perpetrator though in the story was one that I don’t think too many will see coming so that was good. For me though when finished I thought this one to be an OK read but would hope the next could be a bit more intense.

Dylan Young grew up in a mining village in South Wales before boarding a train for university in London. A career in the NHS followed, but the urge to write never went away. Three dark psychological thrillers for Random House emerged in the late nineties, two of which were made into BBC films. Over the last decade, under different pseudonyms, he’s written children’s books and an adult contemporary fantasy series. But his liking for crime (writing) never died. The Silent Girls releases 19th January with the second book to follow soon after.